General News about Joachim, Marie and Family Part 5: September 2019 - December 2020

[HereditaryPrincess]

Disappointed in these comments from Marie - I didn't know she had this kind of attitude. I agree that it probably was a bit defensive on her part, but she should be aware that being in the public eye, this will be bait for the tabloids. So many people are struggling to keep food on the table during Coronavirus and she is more concerned about having to look after her family from the comfort of a nice apartment in Paris.

[tommy100]

Interesting that this is the second time now (I think) we've heard/seen Marie say perhaps a little more than intended in an interview. Wasn't there a time she defended his appanage quite vehemently during a tv interview. Maybe as she grows in confidence she is starting to show more of her true self.

[Nordic]

Originally Posted by tommy100

Interesting that this is the second time now (I think) we've heard/seen Marie say perhaps a little more than intended in an interview. Wasn't there a time she defended his appanage quite vehemently during a tv interview. Maybe as she grows in confidence she is starting to show more of her true self.

The interview you mention was less than a year ago in Paris, at a dinner during the crown prince couple's business promotion.

She married into the family 12 years ago. She has looked perfectly confident for a long time now.
What she (they) said should not have been done in public and to a tabloid reporter.

[Minister of Court]

Really! I’ve never liked this Marie character in the first place (an interloper if there ever was one) but this truly takes the biscuit!

[Muhler]

Also keep in mind that their son Henrik fell badly ill and had to be committed.

It's easy to be strong on behalf of someone else and say: Grit you teeth.
But when you are in an uncomfortable situation you tend only to focus on yourself. It's human.

Marie has a tendency to actually answer truthfully when asked a question. And she is fiercely defensive of her husband.
Is it wise? Not really.
Does it come across is being spoiled? Depends on how you look at it.
But it's honest and genuine.
Are they bad character traits?

I guess they both agreed on Joachim having a professional military career. Only to discover that duty sometimes call on them being stationed abroad for several years.
Joachim could just as well have been ordered to serve at a HQ in Mali for six months. A posting not without danger.
So yes, I can feel for them being uprooted and also feel sympathy for them being ordered to a posting not of their choosing, but that's life for a military family.
When it on top of that has been a very hectic year, with a lot of stress and a husband who was pretty much absent, well...
Our Marie was pulled out of her comfort zone and while she may not have realized it yet, it will have made her much stronger.

[MARG]

I don't think Marie was whining about having to look after her own children but rather that the life she had built as "Princess Marie" was something she was just getting comfortable with.

As the kids grew and started school she was able to divert a lot of that time to her patronages and discovering she, Marie, had a voice and choices and had the ability to contribute to the better good.

Having just found her feet she's back to "Marie the Attache's wife who has two children". In fact mant women who work and have small children would have had slightly uncomfortable déjà vu moments of their earlier lives before the kids went to school.

Marie is back to being a name on a letterhead and "having to do lunch" with a lot of diplomatic wives who got there by burnishing their husband's attributes and playing nice with the 'right' wives.

I give my support to her for having an opinion and voicing it.

I also think 2020 doesn't count. In fact I have decided it is my own personal leaping year.

[maria-olivia]

Did she received in Denmark a lot of the late Prince Henrik Patronages ?
Who took them over ??

[Kataryn]

You never know when a French lady talks to a French reporter in French and that as an interview is published, is that is what the lady actually meant. French is a language so full of double meanings and different levels of seriousness, now consider that to be translated to Danish and a lot of wrong things could end up in print. Maybe she felt the need to defend their move to France? She had been critizised that it was because she wanted to raise their 3/4th French kids there. Maybe she wanted to tell a French reporter that it wasn't their wish to move to France at all, that of course as a prince and princess of Denmark they would have preferred to stay in Copenhagen with their kids and it came out all wrong?


You never know with the media and the journalists you answer and talk to. Especially when you are a French born Danish princess? And you want to avoid saying that the Danish military leadership just followed a Royal Prince's wishes? IMHO we can't take what was written as the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Marie, if she is anything, she is a loyal wife. And as a French she appears to me as good in "arranging things" (there you can see how much I think in clichés) while she is not one to complain to the media. Our Marie has shown she is a woman with inner strength and willingness to serve her new home country.



But IMHO this was the best time where she could introduce her kids to France as well as Denmark and not as guests only. When the reign changes to Joachim's brother, Marie and Joachim will be needed in Denmark, as Elisabeth is dead, Benedikte is getting older as well and all the children are still needing time to get a good education.



I think if Mary had met Fred earlier and gotten married to him when he was not yet full working for their country, I think we would have seen the Crown Prince Couple in Australia for at least a year!


And after Joachim got rid of Schakenborg, there was a time when he and Marie could go to France. I personally don't think they wo9uld have gone to Mali or even Spain/Germany/the Uk. It meant going back to the roots for both of them, as Joachim's father was French, too.

[Muhler]

The interview translated by me was to a Danish magazine and I am in very little doubt as to what our Marie and Joachim too meant.

She is reacting pretty much in the same way my wife would react if I told her that my job require us to live abroad for at least four years, "and you are hardly going to see me awake during the first year there." And that I can't really turn down the "offer."
And that we have to move within the next three months or so - including pulling our children out of school.
She wouldn't be pleased!

I suggested Joachim being stationed in Mali, because that would be a very real possibility. (*)
DK is heavily involved with French forces fighting Islamists in the Sahara region. And have been so for years. Sending a full colonel or brigadier to an HQ there would be a normal thing.

(*) As a defense attache in France, Joachim is almost guaranteed to be visiting French and as such also Danish forces in Sahara up to several times.

[Kataryn]

Seems I really misunderstood certain things. Thank you for telling me, Muhler.

[Muhler]

Your confusion is perfectly understandable. There was also a French interview, but the nuances of that is something I will leave to others.

[ricarda]

Originally Posted by maria-olivia

Did she received in Denmark a lot of the late Prince Henrik Patronages ?
Who took them over ??

On 2nd May 2019 it was announced that she took over 2 patronages and 1 Honorary Presidency. All are related to France.
- Alliance Francaise i Denmark
- Le Souvenir Francais

- Den Danske Sektion på Lycée International

H.K.H. Prinsesse Marie påtager sig to nye protektioner og et nyt æreshverv | Kongehuset

While Henrik was still alive (22 Nov 2013) Marie took over as patron of The Danish Epilepsy Association and of the Kattegatcenter.

Other patronages were taken over by the Crown Prince (Red Cross, Danish-Chinese Business Forum,The Danish Hunters' Association, The Copenhagen Boys' Choir) and the Crown Princess (Copenhagen Zoo, WWF). And AFAIR one by Joachim (Historical Society for Orders and Medals).

[Alisa]

The interview confirmed what I have longed believed. I have always had the gut feeling and supported impression that the family was basically forced out of Denmark.
It never made sense how Joachim a self-professed farmer got this prestigious military job. A military (especially one that uproots his family) job is not something he would have voluntarily chose for himself.

Moreover, I recall there being a few key family events that the family surprisingly not return to Denmark for.

I dare say there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. This interview is starting lift the lid on it.

[Denville]

Why would they be force-out of Denmark? It seems as if Joachim didn't make a success of farming.. albeit it seems odd then to push him into a military job that someone else could do as well.

[Duke of Marmalade]

Well, if Marie is not lying the only conclusion is that they were forced out. If there were forced out, the decision was either sanctioned or taken by Margrethe. The invitation to France came from the highest level. There are many reasons, relationships within the family, Denmark too crowded for 2 princely families, Joachim wanting to do more but not allowed to overshadow Frederik, Joachim not wanting to do more for the apanage he gets, the wish to set him on a proper career path until retirement, any other suggestions?

[suztav]

I think "forced out" is a bit dramatic. Perhaps Joachim and Marie want to pursue a life similar to Constantijn and Laurentien in The Netherlands where they support the Crown, but also have their own private life and career.

Of course, the media prefers a much more dramatic story :)

[Tatiana Maria]

Originally Posted by suztav

I think "forced out" is a bit dramatic. Perhaps Joachim and Marie want to pursue a life similar to Constantijn and Laurentien in The Netherlands where they support the Crown, but also have their own private life and career.

Of course, the media prefers a much more dramatic story :)

I believe the posters in this thread are expressing their own interpretations of the direct quotations from Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, not the media's.

[Muhler]

Originally Posted by suztav

I think "forced out" is a bit dramatic. Perhaps Joachim and Marie want to pursue a life similar to Constantijn and Laurentien in The Netherlands where they support the Crown, but also have their own private life and career.

Of course, the media prefers a much more dramatic story :)

Agree. Let's not make it more dramatic than it is. The tabloids will do that for us.

IMO Joachim simply got an offer he could not refuse. Not without losing face and embarrassing QMII, the Defense Command (who I'm sure worked behind the scenes to secure his place on the staff course) the military and the country.

There was plenty of room for both M&F and J&M.
Not least because J&M had IMO in increasingly lesser role, partly because they did no longer take on so many events and partly because that's how it is.
But Joachim had found a nice little niche for himself and had a personal and public victory with that. I.e. making documentaries - while our Marie could still focus on her protections
All the while M&F remained the royal superstars.

So at present I no longer believe J&M will extend their stay in France (or elsewhere) for a minute more than the three years they are to be stationed in Paris.
Of course they may end up liking the life in the diplomatic corps and see things differently in three years. Who knows?
But right now I'm sure it's a duty and no more than that!

However, what will they do once the three-year period is up?
In three years both their children will still go to school and if they have settled there, J&M may consider prolonging their stay in France for the sake of the children. Because in about five years Henrik will start in high school.
But if they decide not to extend their stay in Paris, Joachim's experiences will be sought after and he will IMO most likely ensure himself a position at the Defense Command or the Defense Academy as an expert. - And be promoted to major general.
However, after three-five years in DK, he is likely to be stationed abroad again.
By then he will be in his mid to late fifties and may decide to resign in order to focus on making documentaries. Having perhaps a side-job as a consultant for the military.

That's what my crystal ball tells me.
But, as we all know, it's difficult to make predictions. Especially about the future...

[Heavs]

I know Denmark isn't huge but surely there's room for two adult Princes and their wives? Especially as Joachim did seem to have found a suitable niche that he did well at but didn't take away from the Crown Prince Couple.

Unless there are serious behind the scenes feuds I suppose. And if we asked the "other side" then there would probably be a very different interpretation as always.

Maybe the Queen felt that this would be an amazing opportunity for the family and add some extra official lustre to Joachim? And being a very strong personality as well as Queen they felt unable to say no? However they are both still adults and if they really didn't want this they should have said no, we're living our lives here.

[Nordic]

Originally Posted by Muhler

Agree. Let's not make it more dramatic than it is. The tabloids will do that for us.

IMO Joachim simply got an offer he could not refuse. Not without losing face and embarrassing QMII, the Defense Command (who I'm sure worked behind the scenes to secure his place on the staff course) the military and the country.

There was plenty of room for both M&F and J&M.
.

Perhaps this is a case of Marie thinking they would spend a year in Paris, return to her normal life, Joachim would get a great job in Denmark with the possible occasional visit abroad and then Joachim was offered the job for 3 years. I still say he shouldn't have taken the job if he/they didn't want to do it. There were other applicants.

There has always been room for both couples. J&M could have continued to work for Queen and country x amount of time and the CPC is the CPC. They do have obligations and events that J&M don't have. I'm sure that is the same in other monarchies.